Psycho tetralogy

Novels

Psycho (1959)

In 1959, the novel Psycho was published. It was marketed as being loosely based on the Wisconsin serial killer and cannibal Ed Gein, after author Robert Bloch, who lived 40 miles away from Gein's farmhouse, learned of the killings shortly before finishing the novel, having independently liked the idea of somebody being able to kill people in a small community and get away with it for years without being caught. Bloch was further surprised years later when news of Gein's living in isolation with a religiously fanatical mother came to his attention, in "how closely the imaginary character I'd created resembled the real Ed Gein both in overt act and apparent motivation". The character of Norman Bates was different in the novel from in the film version. In the novel, Bates is overweight, in his early 40s and drinks heavily. When Joseph Stefano adapted the novel into the screenplay, he made the character of Norman young, attractive and vulnerable.

Psycho II (1982)

In 1982, Bloch wrote a sequel novel called Psycho II which satirized the slasher genre and mocked the production of the 1983 film version, which was created independently and without Bloch's input. In the novel, Norman Bates escapes the mental institution and goes to Hollywood to stop the production of a film based on his life. Criticisms of the novel stated that Bloch's writing was immature, incoherent and unsuitable for adaptation into a motion picture.

Psycho House (1990)

In 1990, due to the pressure from his publishing company, Bloch wrote a third novel called Psycho House, but according to horror writer David J. Schow, when writing it Bloch originally called it Psycho 13. In the novel, set ten years after Norman Bates' death, the Bates mansion and motel are both bought as tourist attractions, before a series of mysterious murders begin to take place.

Psycho: Sanitarium (2016)

A fourth installment, titled Robert Bloch's Psycho: Sanitarium and written by Chet Williamson, was released in 2016. The book is set between the events of the original novel and Psycho II, recounting the events which took place in a state hospital for the criminally insane where Bates is a patient.

Films

Psycho (1960)

In need of money to get her boyfriend, Sam Loomis, out of debt (John Gavin), Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) steals $40,000 (approximately $441,601 in 2026 dollars) from her employer and flees Phoenix, Arizona by car. While en route to Sam's California home, she parks along the road to sleep. A highway patrol officer awakens her and, suspicious of her agitation, follows her. When she trades her car for another at a dealership, he notes the new vehicle's details. Marion returns to the road but, rather than drive in a heavy storm, decides to spend the night at the Bates Motel. The proprietor, Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), tells Marion he rarely has customers because of the motel's disconnection from a new Interstate and mentions he lives with his mother in the house overlooking the motel. He invites Marion to supper. She overhears Norman arguing with his mother about letting Marion in the house, and during the meal, she angers him by suggesting he institutionalize his mother. He admits he would like this, but does not want to abandon her.

Marion resolves to return to Phoenix to return the money. After calculating how she can repay the money she has spent, Marion dumps her notes down the toilet and begins to shower. An anonymous female figure enters the bathroom and stabs her to death. Finding the corpse, Norman is horrified. He places Marion's body, wrapped in the shower curtain, and all her possessions - including the money - in the trunk of her car and sinks it in a nearby swamp.

Shortly afterward, Sam is contacted by both Marion's sister Lila Crane (Vera Miles) and private detective Milton Arbogast (Martin Balsam), who has been hired by Marion's employer to recover the money. Arbogast traces Marion to the motel and questions Norman, who unconvincingly lies that Marion stayed for one night and left the following morning. He refuses to let Arbogast talk to his mother, claiming she is ill. Arbogast calls Lila to update her and tells her he will call again after he questions Norman's mother.

Arbogast enters Norman's house and at the top of the stairs is attacked by a figure who slashes his face with a knife, pushes him down the stairs, then stabs him to death. When Arbogast does not call Lila, she and Sam contact the local police. Deputy Sheriff Al Chambers (John McIntire) is perplexed to learn Arbogast saw a woman in a window since Norman's mother died ten years ago. Norman confronts his mother and urges her to hide in the cellar. She rejects the idea and orders him out of her room, but against her will, Norman carries her to the cellar.

Psycho II (1983)

Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) is released from a mental institution after 22 years. Lila Crane (Vera Miles), the sister of Bates' victim Marion Crane and widow of the now-deceased Sam Loomis, vehemently protests with a petition that she has been circulating with signatures of 743 people, including the relatives of the six people Norman killed prior to his incarceration, but her plea is dismissed. Norman is taken to his old home, the Bates Motel, with the house behind it on the hill, by Dr. Bill Raymond (Robert Loggia), who assures him everything will be fine. He is introduced to the motel's new manager, Warren Toomey (Dennis Franz). The following day, Norman reports to a pre-arranged job at a nearby diner, run by a kindly old lady named Emma Spool (Claudia Bryar). One of his co-workers there is Mary Samuels (Meg Tilly), a young waitress. Mary claims she has been thrown out of her boyfriend's place and needs a place to stay. Norman offers to let her stay at the motel, then extends the offer to his home when he discovers that Toomey has turned his beloved establishment into a sleazy adult motel.

Norman's adjustment back into society appears to be going along well until "Mother" begins to make her presence known. Norman gets mysterious notes from "Mother" at the house and diner. Phone calls come from someone claiming to be Norman's mother. Toomey picks a fight at the diner after Norman fires him. Later, a figure in a black dress stabs Toomey to death with a kitchen knife as he is packing to leave the motel. Norman begins to doubt his sanity when he begins hearing voices in the house. He enters his mother's bedroom to find it looks exactly as it did 22 years ago. A sound lures him to the attic, where he is locked in. Believing the house to be abandoned, a teenage couple sneaks in through the cellar window. They notice a female figure pacing in the next room. As they try to climb out, the boy is stabbed to death. The girl escapes and alerts the police. Mary eventually finds Norman in the attic. Sheriff Hunt (Hugh Gillin) questions them about the boy's murder. He finds the cellar neat and orderly. Norman is about to admit that something suspicious is going on, but Mary claims that she has cleaned up the basement herself. After the sheriff leaves, Norman asks Mary why she lied. She explains that she had to save him from being arrested. Norman collapses into the chair with his head in his hands and moans, "It's starting again!"

Mary is startled later when she discovers someone looking at her through a peephole in the bathroom wall. She calls out to Norman, who is downstairs and out of reach. The two are horrified to find a bloody cloth that has been stuffed down the toilet. Norman appears confused and believes he may have committed another murder. Mary goes down to check the motel. In the parlor she is surprised by Lila, who reveals herself to be Mary's mother. She has been calling Norman claiming to be his mother, even going so far as to dress up as her and allowing him to see her in the window. Mary has been helping her. She was responsible for restoring Mother's room at the house and locking Norman in the attic. All of this was an attempt to drive Norman insane again and have him recommitted.

Psycho III (1986)

Maureen Coyle (Diana Scarwid), a mentally unstable young nun, is on top of a bell tower about to commit suicide. When another nun tries to get her to come down, Maureen accidentally pushes her over the railing to her death. Another nun tells Maureen that she will burn in hell. She is forced to leave the convent after this ordeal.

Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) is still manning the desk at the Bates Motel and living with the preserved corpse of his real mother, Emma Spool (Claudia Bryar), whom Norman killed at the end of Psycho II. Local law enforcement and Norman's ex-boss Ralph Statler (Robert Alan Browne) are concerned since Mrs. Spool has been missing for over a month. Duane Duke (Jeff Fahey), a sleazy musician desperate for money, is offered the job of assistant manager at the Bates Motel. Maureen, now the new long-term tenant, has some issues to resolve in her life. She gave up her vows as a nun only days before, and she isn't sure just how she feels about either spiritual or earthly matters.

Sheriff John Hunt (Hugh Gillin) and Statler have a conversation at the diner, when Tracy Venable (Roberta Maxwell), a pushy journalist from Los Angeles, interrupts them. She is working on an article about serial killers being put back on the streets. Venable is trying to back up her theory that Norman is back to his old ways again. Norman appears and Venable jumps at the chance to talk with him. Unaware of her ulterior motives Norman opens up to her, but is distracted when an exhausted Maureen enters and sits at the lunch counter. He is startled by Maureen's presence, because he feels she strongly resembles Marion Crane. Seeing the initials "M.C." on her suitcase, Norman freaks out and leaves the diner. After a conversation with "Mother", Norman spies on Maureen as she undresses and heads into the bathroom to take a shower. Keeping "her" word, "Mother" enters Maureen's motel room with plans to kill her. Upon pulling back the shower curtain, it is revealed Maureen has attempted suicide by cutting her wrists, a sight which snaps Norman back to his "normal" side. Maureen looks up at "Mother" who is so weakened by what "she" sees, "she" lowers the knife. Due to blood loss, Maureen hallucinates and she mistakes Norman, dressed up as "Mother", for the Virgin Mary holding a silver crucifix.

Meanwhile, Tracy has met with Duane at a bar where they discuss Norman, and it seems Tracy blames Norman for Mrs. Spool's disappearance. When she leaves, Duane picks up another girl at the bar, Red (Juliette Cummins). Norman gets Maureen to the local hospital to save her life. After she is released, he invites her to stay back at the motel and they begin a romantic relationship. The same night, Duane and Red arrive at the motel and hear an argument between "Mother" and Norman, but think it's just a TV turned up too loud. Red and Duane, head to cabin 12 where they make love. Later that night, Red, makes it clear she wants more than just a fling. Calling him a pig, they argue. Duane, infuriated, throws her out of the cabin. Red heads down to the payphone to call a cab, where she realizes she is wearing her blouse backwards. As she takes it off to put it on the right way, "Mother" shatters the phone booth door and stabs a trapped Red to death. The next morning, Duane finds Norman scrubbing down the phone booth.

Bates Motel (1987)

Bates Motel ignores the existence of Psycho II and III (and would in turn be ignored by Psycho IV), with Norman Bates never being released from the mental institution to allow the events of those films. Alex West (Bud Cort) is a mentally disturbed youth who was admitted to the asylum for killing his abusive stepfather. At the asylum, he roomed with Norman Bates (Kurt Paul) and they eventually became close friends. Years later, Norman dies and Alex learns that he has inherited the Bates Motel. He travels to Norman's California hometown (renamed Fairville for this film; in the original film it was Fairvale) and with a little help from teenage runaway Willie (Lori Petty) and local handyman Henry Watson (Moses Gunn), Alex struggles to re-open the motel for business. Alex gets a loan to renovate the motel, but the project is plagued with rumors about the place being haunted by the ghost of Norman's mother, Mrs. Bates, and the discovery of her remains, as well as those of her late husband, buried on the grounds of the motel. When recovering the remains of Mrs. Bates, the sheriff said that the body "was never found", which seems to conflict with the original Psycho, with Mrs. Bates in the basement where Norman is finally captured by Sam Loomis.

While renovating the motel, Alex sees Mrs. Bates in her bedroom window, and sees the corpse of her late husband from the same window, supporting the idea that the property is haunted. Willie becomes suspicious and eventually they find that the haunting was a prank by the bank manager, Tom Fuller (Gregg Henry), who had approved a loan with predatory terms with Alex and was trying to sabotage the motel by trying to scare him away. Tom is then forced to help Alex and the others by negotiating friendlier payment terms for the loan or face prison for fraud.

Meanwhile, not all ghost stories turn out to be hoaxes as Barbara Peters (Kerrie Keane) books a room in Alex's motel for the night, contemplating suicide for getting older, going through three divorces without children. Barbara meets a teenage girl (Khrystyne Haje), who invites Barbara to dance at an after prom party in the motel with her and her teenage friends, including Tony Scotti (Jason Bateman), though Barbara felt uncomfortable hanging with young kids. It is then revealed that Barbara's real name is Sally, and that the teenage girl took her own life 25 years ago and is now trapped in "the other side", along with Tony, and other teens who also committed suicide. She tells Barbara that she has a life worth living for, before leaving with the rest of the group. Barbara leaves the motel the next day, planning to live her life to the fullest.

Psycho IV: The Beginning (1990)

Fran Ambrose (CCH Pounder) is a radio talk show host who is talking on the topic of "matricide" (when children kill their mothers) with guest Dr. Richmond (Warren Frost), who was Norman Bates' former psychologist. The radio receives a call from Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), who has re-entered society and married his former psychiatrist, Connie (Donna Mitchell). Under the alias of "Ed" (possibly a reference to Ed Gein, the killer after whom the character of Norman was modeled), Norman tells his story, which the audience sees as a series of flashbacks set in the 1940s and 1950s. Some flashbacks are slightly out of order. The chronological story is: in 1950, Norman's mother, Norma Bates (Olivia Hussey) had schizophrenia; she was smothering Norman and would have violent mood swings. Due to Norman's sexual repression at her hands, when she was frolicking with him he had an incestuous erection, causing her to dress him in women's clothing and taunt him by calling him "Norma". She then got engaged to a man named Chet Rudolph (Thomas Schuster), who would beat up Norman. Eventually Norman got fed up with her allowing Chet to be in their lives and poisoned them both, albeit reluctantly. He then developed his infamous dissociative identity disorder and stole her corpse to create the illusion that she was alive—whenever her corpse spoke to him, the "Norma" personality would take over. This caused Norman as "Norma" to kill two women who wanted to have sex with him.

Throughout the spaces in the flashbacks, Dr. Richmond realizes "Ed" is Norman and tries to convince Fran to trace the calls. Richmond's worries are dismissed because they cannot trace the call and they believe they can talk Norman out of the reason he called: he fears he will kill again. He tells Fran that Connie got pregnant against his wishes and that he does not want another "monster". He then tells Fran he does believe his mother is dead, but he will kill Connie "with my own hands, just like the first time". He then takes Connie to his mother's house and attempts to kill her, but after Connie reassures Norman that their child will not be a monster, he drops his knife in shame and Connie forgives him. He then burns the house where all his unhappiness began. As he tries to escape the flames, he hallucinates that he sees his victims, Chet, his mother and eventually himself preserving her corpse. He and Connie leave the scene with Norman stating, "I'm free". As the credits roll, however, the sound of his newborn baby crying can be heard.

Psycho (1998)

In need of money to get her boyfriend Sam Loomis (Viggo Mortensen) out of debt, Marion Crane (Anne Heche) steals $400,000 from her employer and flees Phoenix, Arizona by car. While en route to Sam's California home, she parks along the road to sleep. A highway patrol officer awakens her and, suspicious of her agitated state, begins to follow her. When she trades her car for another one at a dealership, he notes the new vehicle's details. Marion returns to the road but, rather than drive in a heavy storm, decides to spend the night at the Bates Motel. The proprietor, Norman Bates (Vince Vaughn), tells Marion he rarely has customers because of a new interstate nearby and mentions he lives with his mother in the house overlooking the motel. He invites Marion to have supper with him. She overhears Norman arguing with his mother about letting Marion in the house, and during the meal she angers him by suggesting he institutionalize his mother. He admits he would like to do so, but does not want to abandon her.

Marion resolves to return to Phoenix to return the money. After calculating how she can repay the money she has spent, Marion dumps her notes down the toilet and begins to shower. An anonymous female figure enters the bathroom and stabs her to death. Finding the corpse, Norman is horrified. He cleans the bathroom and places Marion's body, wrapped in the shower curtain, and all her possessions - including the money - in the trunk of her car and sinks it in a nearby swamp.

Shortly afterward, Sam is contacted by both Marion's sister Lila Crane (Julianne Moore) and private detective Milton Arbogast (William H. Macy), who has been hired by Marion's employer to find her and recover the money. Arbogast traces Marion to the motel and questions Norman, who unconvincingly lies that Marion stayed for one night and left the following morning. He refuses to let Arbogast talk to his mother, claiming she is ill. Arbogast calls Lila to update her and tells her he will contact her again within an hour after he questions Norman's mother.

Arbogast enters Norman's house and at the top of the stairs is attacked by a figure who slashes his face three times with a knife, pushes him down the stairs, then stabs him to death. When Arbogast does not call Lila, she and Sam contact the local police. Deputy Sheriff Al Chambers (Philip Baker Hall) is perplexed to learn Arbogast saw a woman in a window, since Norman's mother died ten years ago. Norman confronts his mother and urges her to hide in the cellar. She rejects the idea and orders him out of her room, but against her will Norman carries her to the cellar.

Television

Bates Motel (2013–2017)

A TV series by A&E network named Bates Motel is loosely based on the Psycho films and novels. The series is a television reboot set in the 2010s and chronicle Norman Bates' early childhood with his mother and how she drove him to become a killer. Bates Motel takes place in the modern day and stars Freddie Highmore as young Norman Bates and Vera Farmiga as Mrs. Bates. It premiered on March 18, 2013, and produced five seasons for a total of 50 episodes. The series was shot in Vancouver with a replica of the Psycho house from Universal Studios Hollywood and a recreation of the original Bates Motel from the first film. The original interior sets have also been recreated.

Cast and crew

Production

History (1959–1997)

Psycho is based on the 1959 novel of the same name by Robert Bloch which in turn is based loosely on the case of convicted Wisconsin murderer Ed Gein. Both Gein and Psycho's protagonist, Norman Bates, were solitary murderers in isolated rural locations. Both had deceased, domineering mothers, and had sealed off one room of their house as a shrine to their mother, and both dressed in women's clothing. There are many differences between Bates and Ed Gein, however. Among others, Gein would not be strictly considered a serial killer, having officially killed "only" two people. Peggy Robertson, Hitchcock's production assistant, read Anthony Boucher's positive review of the Bloch novel and decided to show the book to Hitchcock, even though readers at Hitchcock's home studio Paramount Pictures rejected its premise for a film. Hitchcock acquired rights to the novel for $9,500. He reportedly ordered Robertson to buy up copies to keep the novel's surprises for the film. Hitchcock chose to film Psycho to recover from two aborted projects with Paramount: Flamingo Feather and No Bail for the Judge. Hitchcock also faced genre competitors whose works were critically compared to his own and so wanted to film new material. The director also disliked stars' salary demands and trusted only a few people to choose prospective material, including Robertson.

Paramount executives did not want to produce the film and refused to provide the budget that Hitchcock received from them for previous films with the studio. Hitchcock decided to plan for Psycho to be filmed quickly and inexpensively, similar to an episode of his ongoing television series Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and hired the television series crew as Shamley Productions. He proposed this cost-conscious approach to Paramount but executives again refused to finance the film, telling him their sound stages were occupied or booked even though production was known to be in a slump. Hitchcock countered with the offer to finance the film personally and to film it at Universal-International if Paramount would distribute. He also deferred his director's fee of $250,000 for a 60% ownership of the film negative. This offer was finally accepted. Hitchcock also experienced resistance from producer Herbert Coleman and Shamley Productions executive Joan Harrison, who did not think the film would be a success.

Hitchcock hired writer James Cavanaugh to write a draft of the screenplay. Unsatisfied with Cavanaugh's screenplay, Hitchcock then hired up-and-coming writer Joseph Stefano to adapt the novel. The film began shooting in December 1959 and would go on to last about a month. It was filmed mostly on the backlot of Universal and in various sound stages. During shooting, Hitchcock was forced to uncharacteristically do retakes for some scenes. The final shot in the shower scene, which starts with an extreme close-up on Marion's eye and pulls up and out, proved very difficult for Leigh, since the water splashing in her face made her want to blink, and the cameraman had trouble as well since he had to manually focus while moving the camera. Retakes were also required for the opening scene, since Hitchcock felt that Leigh and Gavin were not passionate enough. Leigh had trouble saying "Not inordinately" for the real estate office scene, requiring additional retakes. Lastly, the scene in which the mother is discovered required complicated coordination of the chair turning around, Miles hitting the light bulb, and a lens flare, which proved to be the sticking point. Hitchcock forced retakes until all three elements were to his satisfaction. The famous shower scene took a week to complete and took up a third of Janet Leigh's shooting time. Psycho was released on June 16, 1960, to mixed critical reception and financial success, making thirty-two million dollars in its theatrical run. The film received four Academy Award nominations.

Home media

Psycho, Psycho II, Psycho III, Psycho IV: The Beginning, the Psycho remake and Bates Motel have been released on VHS. A DVD box set containing Psycho, Psycho II, Psycho III and Psycho IV: The Beginning was released in November 2003 by Universal Studios Home Entertainment in the UK. In America, Psycho was released on DVD on May 26, 1998, and a 2-Disc Special Edition with digitally remastered picture and new extras was released on October 7, 2008. As for the sequels, Good Times Home Video released Psycho II on DVD in full screen on March 2, 1999, and released Psycho III on September 28, 1999. Universal re-released Psycho II and Psycho III on September 13, 2005. A "Triple Feature" collection containing Psycho II, Psycho III and Psycho IV: The Beginning (for the first time on DVD) was released on August 14, 2007. The Psycho remake was released on DVD on August 29, 2000. On October 13, 2013, Universal released the made-for-TV movie Bates Motel on DVD. In 2010, The Psycho Legacy documentary was released as a 2-disc set with the 87 minute documentary and 3 hours of special features. Hitchcock was released on DVD and Blu-ray on March 12, 2013.

List of releases

Reception

Accolades

In 1960, Psycho received four Academy Award nominations: Best Director for Alfred Hitchcock, Best Supporting Actress for Janet Leigh, Best Cinematography for John L. Russell and Best Art Direction for Joseph Hurley, Robert Clatworthy and George Milo. All three sequels have been nominated for Saturn Awards: Psycho II for Best Supporting Actress (Meg Tilly); Psycho III for Best Horror Film and Best Actor (Anthony Perkins); and Psycho IV: The Beginning for Best Genre Television Series.

Legacy

Psycho has become one of the most recognizable films ever made. The shower scene alone has become one of the most iconic cut scenes in cinematic history. In 2000, The Guardian ranked the shower scene at No. 2 on their list of "The top 10 film moments". Psycho is frequently referenced, given homage to or spoofed in television shows such as The Simpsons (Treehouse of Horror XX), South Park, American Dad!, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Maude, The Golden Girls and more. Films such as Scream 2, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Throw Momma from the Train, Scary Movie and more have referenced the film. Many critics and filmmakers have cited Psycho as the film that modernized the horror genre. Horror writer David. J. Schow stated in The Psycho Legacy: "It brought the idea that the killer in a horror film was not a mutant, didn't have dents in his head; he could look like that nice young boy from next door". The film also brought in a new level of acceptable violence and sexuality in movies. Psycho is considered by some to be the first film in the slasher film genre. In 2010, The Guardian newspaper ranked it as "the best horror film of all time". In 2021, Psycho was ranked at No. 5 by Time Out on their list of "The 100 best horror movies". Both Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh spent the rest of their careers being typecasted by the film. Even Alfred Hitchcock's films began to decline in critical and financial popularity after the release of Psycho. Hitchcock film scholars argue that for the rest of his career, Hitchcock's films were constantly being compared to Psycho. The "Psycho" films still maintain a large fanbase. Various websites dedicated to the franchise such as The Psycho Movies.com have appeared on the internet. Books detailing the making and impact of the film such as Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho, The Moment of Psycho, Janet Leigh's Psycho: Behind The Scenes of the Classic Thriller have been published over the years. Two retrospective documentaries have been released detailing the making of all four films including The Making of Psycho (1997) and The Psycho Legacy (2010). The film also spawned the show Alfred Hitchcock: The Art of Making Movies at Universal Studios Florida, with part of the show detailing how the shower scene was filmed. In 1992, Psycho was added to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

A musical stage adaptation from Neil Diamond, Psycho: The Musical, was performed from January 25 to February 9, 2019, at PULP Black Box Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia.

Other media and merchandise

Various Psycho related merchandise has been sold ever since the release of the original film. Merchandise includes T-shirts, posters, DVDs, books, stationery, shot glasses, shower curtains, action figures, model house kits, pens and more. Much of the merchandise is related to the fictional Bates Motel where items commonly found in an actual motel have the Bates Motel logo on them. A Bates Motel light up sign was released in 2009. To coincide with the 50th anniversary of the release of the original film, a Psycho house model kit was released in the U.S. Props from all the films are also sold occasionally on eBay. The original one sheet poster for Psycho is worth around $3000 in mint condition. The original one sheets for Psycho II, Psycho III and Psycho IV: The Beginning are worth around $50 each.

Graphic novels

In 1992, a series of graphic novels based on the original Psycho was published by the Innovation Publishing group.

Video game

An adventure game based on the original film was released in 1988 for Commodore 64, MS-DOS, Amiga, and Atari ST.

The Psycho house and Bates Motel sets

The Bates House and Motel were constructed on the backlot at Universal City Studios in 1959 for the production of Psycho. It has been said that the house, designed by art directors Joseph Hurley and Robert Clathworthy, was loosely based on an Edward Hopper painting called "House by the Railroad". The house and motel sets were actually empty shells, also known as facades. When the house was originally built, there was no right side of the house, since the right side is never seen on camera in the original Psycho film. Interiors of the Bates house and motel were constructed on Sound stage 18-A at Universal, just a short walk from the actual exterior locations making production convenient for all involved. After production had wrapped on Psycho, the house was featured in several television productions including The Virginian, Wagon Train and Boris Karloff's Thriller.

In 1964, Universal Studios opened its patented Studio Tram Tour. The right side of the house was then added and the set was unceremoniously dubbed "The Psycho House". The house and even the motel went on to appear in several shows such as Night Gallery, The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries and even in films such as Invitation to a Gunfighter and Modern Problems. The motel was torn down in 1979 and the house was moved to an alternate location on the backlot to accommodate the new tour. In 1982, Richard Franklin and Hilton A. Green began a production of the film Psycho II. The house was then moved to a location that best matched the original hill and only about 40 feet of the motel was actually re-built. The rest of the motel in the film was a matte painting. TV shows during the '80s promoted the Universal Tour and prominently featured the Psycho House including Amazing Stories, Knight Rider and Diff'rent Strokes.

In 1985, the Bates Motel was fully re-built for the filming of Psycho III. For the TV pilot Bates Motel by NBC-TV network, the motel in the film was re-modeled to look very Spanish like. This version of the set remained until 1994 when the new renovations were taken away and the motel was put back to look the way it did in the original Psycho. A 1992 episode of Murder, She Wrote called "Incident in Lot 7" featured the Psycho House and Bates Motel as key locations in the series.

In 1988, plans for Psycho IV: The Beginning were underway at Universal. Plans to shoot the film in Orlando, Florida were set into motion and the film crew constructed a full-scale replica of the Bates Motel and Psycho House at the soon-to-be built Universal Studios Florida. The final dressing and painting was done by the art department crew in 1990, but the house and motel was fully built in 1988 long before the production team was assembled for the project. After production wrapped, the sets were left as attractions at the park until 1999 when it was torn down to make room for another attraction.

24 Hour Psycho

An art installation, 24 Hour Psycho, created by artist Douglas Gordon in 1993, and later installed in the Museum of Modern Art in New York, consists of a silent screening of Psycho, slowed down to two frames per second (from the usual 24), so that it lasts 24 hours rather than 109 minutes. 24 Hour Psycho is featured prominently in Don DeLillo's 2010 novel Point Omega.

The Psycho Legacy (2010)

In 2010, a direct-to-DVD documentary was released called The Psycho Legacy. It included interviews with cast and crew from all four Psycho films. It also featured interviews with horror filmmakers who are fans of the series. The documentary was written, produced and directed by horror journalist Robert Galluzzo, who made the documentary because of the lack of information on the sequels and also to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the release of the original film. The documentary discussed the impact and legacy of the original Psycho and the production stories of Psycho II, Psycho III and Psycho IV: The Beginning. The failed TV pilot Bates Motel and the Gus Van Sant remake were not discussed in the documentary; originally in the deleted scenes section on the DVD two short segments on the two films were supposed to be on there, but for unknown reasons they were left off of the DVD when it was released. The documentary sold well, received mostly positive reviews and garnered new interest in the series from horror fans.

Hitchcock (2012)

A film adaptation of Stephen Rebello's non-fiction book Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho, which follows the complex relationship between Alfred Hitchcock and wife Alma Reville during the filming of Psycho in 1959 was made. The film is directed by Sacha Gervasi and stars Anthony Hopkins as director Alfred Hitchcock, Helen Mirren as his wife Alma Reville, Scarlett Johansson as Janet Leigh, Jessica Biel as Vera Miles, and James D'Arcy as Anthony Perkins. Produced by The Montecito Picture Company and distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures, the film was released on November 23, 2012, in selected cities with a worldwide release on December 14. The film has received mixed reviews from critics and moderate box office returns, with a worldwide gross of $5,337,378.

78/52 documentary (2017)

A documentary examination of the Psycho shower scene was released on October 13, 2017, by director Alexandre O. Philippe running 91 minutes. The cast of participants included Guillermo del Toro, Peter Bogdanovich, Bret Easton Ellis, Jamie Lee Curtis, Karyn Kusama, Eli Roth, Oz Perkins, Leigh Whannell, Walter Murch, Danny Elfman, Elijah Wood, Richard Stanley and Neil Marshall.